The North Carolina Tar Heels could steal a former Big Ten team commit on the recruiting trail.
Say what you want about Bill Belichick, but he has definitely done an impressive job on the recruiting trail for the North Carolina Tar Heels over the last year.
Belichick has put together a top-20 recruiting class for 2026, and North Carolina's name has also been rather ubiquitous on the hunt for 2027 prospects.
On that note, the Tar Heels seem to be making headway on a 2027 defensive back, as 247 Sports is predicting UNC to land three-star safety Royalton Allen.
Allen has an official visit scheduled to Chapel Hill in early June and is clearly impressed with what he has seen from North Carolina thus far.
The Hesperia, Ca. product initially committed to UCLA back in June 2025, but ultimately decommitted this past December.
Because Allen can play safety, cornerback and even wide receiver, he is listed as an athlete and is ranked No. 47 among athletes in his class, via 247 Sports' composite rankings. He is the 53rd-ranked player in the state of California.
Royalton Allen. Credit: Jose Huerta / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images."High effort player and brings a lot of energy and passion to the field," wrote Greg Biggins of 247 Sports. "Motor is always going and he has the kind of versatile, all around game worth betting on. Projects as an impact, multi-year starter at the Power 4 level."
The Tar Heels have secured commitments from three players for the class of 2027, including four-star safety Marquis Bryant. So if UNC is also able to add Allen into the fold, it will be setting itself up rather nicely in the secondary.
Belichick took over as North Carolina's head coach in December 2024 and trudged through a dreadful inaugural season at the helm.
The Tar Heels went just 4-8 this past year, suffering a handful of embarrassing blowout losses and failing to qualify for a bowl game for the first time since 2018.
As you would expect, Belichick was hammered with criticism throughout the campaign and certainly has a whole lot to prove heading into his second season.
The 73-year-old had no prior college coaching experience, so this is certainly a new arena for Belichick, who won six Super Bowls as an NFL head caoch.
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